Differences in the Measurement and Structure of Wealth Using Alternative Data Sources: The Case of the UK

Institute for Fiscal Studies Working Paper No. 11/07

34 Pages Posted: 26 Aug 2007

See all articles by Zoé Oldfield

Zoé Oldfield

Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS)

Eva Sierminska

LISER; DIW Berlin - German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Date Written: July 2007

Abstract

In this paper, we identify methodological differences and similarities in the measurement of wealth using survey data constructed for different purposes in the United Kingdom and England. The focus of the paper is on two prominent surveys in the UK: the English Longitudinal Survey of Ageing4 (ELSA) and the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS). We find conceptual difference in the measurement of financial assets and debt. At the same time, striking similarities exist in the measurement of non-financial assets. For the most part, many differences arise in the tails of the distributions of wealth. Comparable definitions of overall wealth in the surveys lead us to find a 10% and 3% difference in mean and conditional median of total net worth, respectively. Reassuring is the fact that inequality results carried out with the two surveys support one another and quantile regression shows that the distribution of total net worth across demographic groups is similar in the two surveys.

Suggested Citation

Oldfield, Zoe and Sierminska, Eva, Differences in the Measurement and Structure of Wealth Using Alternative Data Sources: The Case of the UK (July 2007). Institute for Fiscal Studies Working Paper No. 11/07, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1008240 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1008240

Zoe Oldfield (Contact Author)

Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) ( email )

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United Kingdom

Eva Sierminska

LISER ( email )

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Esch-sur-Alzette, L-4364
Luxembourg

HOME PAGE: http://www.sierminska.eu

DIW Berlin - German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP)

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Berlin, 10117
Germany

IZA Institute of Labor Economics ( email )

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Bonn, D-53072
Germany

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